Military Shows Off Its CH-47 Chinook Helicopters for the Media

The military is showing off what its fleet of Chinook helicopters can do, from firefighting to rescue to combat roles.

Transcript

00:00A CH-47 Chinook helicopter lowers a water bucket into a reservoir in southern Taiwan.

00:10Though these military workhorses are most visible around National Day in October,

00:14when they hoist the national flag over Taipei,

00:16on this occasion the military is showing off the sorts of tasks

00:19its fleet of eight CH-47 Chinooks performs for the rest of the year.

00:23One of its duties is hauling water in buckets like these,

00:26some holding up to 5,000 liters at a time.

00:28Taiwan does have occasional forest fires,

00:31and the ability to haul so much water made these helicopters invaluable

00:35during disasters like the 2021 Yushan Fire.

00:39The crew doing a mock exercise for news cameras makes it look easy,

00:43but just attaching a load to the helicopter's underside takes practice and a coordinated effort.

00:58Though used till now in peacetime,

01:02the military says these helicopters are prepared for combat duty as well,

01:06both as logistical support and on the front line.

01:09The military hopes this demonstration will show its readiness whenever duty calls,

01:30for firefighting, for rescue, and even for war.

01:33Leon Lian and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.